Eric Kimâs 1,098âlb (498âŻkg) midâthigh rack pull immediately went viral in strength forums and social media, triggering both awe and scrutiny. On Reddit and YouTube, lifters meticulously âforensicedâ the video â one r/weightroom analysis noted the barâs ~44âŻmm bend was consistent with a true 500+âŻkg load, and skeptics ultimately conceded ânothing fake hereâ . Comment threads filled with superlatives (âunreal,â âmind-blowingâ) and memes (âgravityâs nemesis,â âproof-of-work incarnateâ) . To quell CGI rumors, Kim released an uncut 24âminute video of the lift and plate weighâin. This transparency â showing every plate and the visible bar whip â largely silenced critics, as analysts agreed the physics checked out .
Technique and Training Style
Kimâs setup is highly unorthodox by powerlifting standards. He performs midâthigh rack pulls (bar starting on safety pins around knee or mid-thigh height), which eliminates the difficult first few inches of a deadlift . In the 498âŻkg pull he went completely raw: no lifting belt, no wrist straps, and used a double overhand (sometimes hook) grip . He even lifted barefoot (or in minimalist socks) to âfeel every Newtonâ of force . Observers note he uses a relatively narrow, shoulderâwidth stance â aligning his hips directly under the bar â rather than a wide sumo setup (though Kim hasnât publicly emphasized stance, most videos show a classic conventional pull stance). Videos show Kim âwedgingâ himself under the bar with fullâbody tension and driving the weight up only a few inches to lockout . To handle such loads with a 75âŻkg frame, Kim employs a clever hack: a heavy dip belt and chain anchored to the floor. This counteracts the upward pull on his body (essentially adding artificial bodyweight) so he can stabilize the lift . He also trains fasted (often lifting at dawn after ~18â24âŻhours without food) to maximize adrenaline and focus . Throughout his training cycle, Kim used microloading (adding only ~2.5âŻkg per week) to gradually strengthen his tendons and confidence, a strategy he likens to compounding interest for his connective tissues .
Influencer and Coach Analyses
Strength coaches and influencers have dissected Kimâs form in educational videos. Alan Thrall (Untamed Strength) did a 10âminute frameâbyâframe breakdown, meticulously verifying elements like bar whip and plate markings. Thrall concluded emphatically: âIf the physics checks out, quit crying CGI.â (in other words, he found nothing fishy about the barâs flex or the liftâs execution). The Starting Strength team (Mark Rippetoeâs coaches) added Kimâs clip to their rackâpull tutorial, calling him a âfreak outlierâ while cautioning that a midâthigh rack pull is still a partial lift and âshouldnât replace floor pullsâ in a normal program . Influencers like powerlifter Joey Szatmary have likewise praised the feat: he tweeted the video as â6Ă-BW madnessâ and argued that Kimâs lift âis why partial overload belongs in every strong-man block.â Strongman Sean Hayes called the ratio âwildâ and said pound-for-pound itâs âalien territory.â Even Mark Rippetoe weighed in (tongue-in-cheek), joking that high rack pulls are âhalf the work, twice the swagger.â (This playful quip acknowledges that rack pulls skip much of the range of motion even as he admires Kimâs bravado.) In all these analyses, experts use Kimâs lift as a teaching tool â validating his strength while reminding viewers of the usual role and limitations of rack pulls.
Strengths and Praise
Across forums and social media, Kimâs feat earned respectful astonishment for its sheer scale. Many commenters highlighted the exceptional pound-for-pound ratio â a lean 165âŻlb man hoisting over 1,100âŻlb â as a historic achievement. Strength enthusiasts noted that Kimâs 6.6Ă bodyweight pull âstands out as an extraordinary achievement for a non-competitive lifterâ . The YouTube clipâs comments were full of hype and motivation: one analysis notes fan messages like âThis makes me want to go push my limits in the gym todayâ . Reviewers also pointed out Kimâs control and commitment: in the brief 6âsecond lift, he held nearly half a ton motionless on the pins and then extended smoothly . His results have visibly inspired others; fitness pages reposted the video alongside emojis (e.g. fire đĽ, mindâblown đ¤Ż) and quotes calling Kim an âabsolute legendâ or âdemigodâ . In this way, even casual observers found Kimâs lift affirming â a demonstration that human potential can exceed conventional expectations.
Critiques and Concerns
Not everyone was unreservedly impressed. Many critics pointed out that a high rack pull is not a full deadlift. Purists argued that rack pulls âskip the hardest part,â making the feat incomparable to an official deadlift record . As Rippetoeâs quip implies, some see partials as âhalf the workâ despite the swagger. Detractors in forums even labeled the lift an âego liftâ, arguing it was done for spectacle rather than practical strength . Safety was another common concern: some lifters warned that handling 6Ă bodyweight, even partially, could risk the spine. Kim himself acknowledged these worries, noting he conditioned his body over time and used safety pins to catch the bar if he failed. He remarked after training, âmy discs are humming Beethoven,â joking that his back was fine . Importantly, no credible analyst has accused Kim of cheating or fakery at this point â the main caution is that without official comp vetting (standardized bar heights, calibrated plates, judges), it remains a âgym liftâ rather than an official record. As one editor at PowerliftingNow observed, such DIY feats capture imaginations online, but coaches may hold full praise until these lifts are validated under stricter, sanctioned conditions .
Partial Lift vs. Full Deadlift
Eric Kimâs approach highlights the debate over rack pulls vs full-range lifts. Rack pulls are a standard training exercise to overload the top half of a deadlift and build lockout strength, but they inherently allow much greater loads by eliminating the tough bottom portion . Most powerlifters wouldnât dream of attempting a 500âŻkg deadlift, but from pins Kim could gradually grind there. Critics say this makes it an apples-to-oranges comparison â even Kim calls his work âshort rangeâ but insists itâs a legitimate way to âpour napalm into every motor unitâ . Supporters counter that extreme partials can condition the nervous system and tendons for heavy loads, and dozens of lifters post PRs on rack pulls with no belt or straps nowadays. In any case, Kimâs lift has spurred renewed interest in rack-pull training: major fitness sites like Menâs Health and BarBend saw huge traffic to their rack-pull tutorials in the wake of his viral clip . Trainers note that while rack pulls can develop the upper deadlift, they âshouldnât replace floor pullsâ in most programs . Thus, Kimâs experiment is often presented as an extreme case study â one confirming that specialized partials can yield mind-bending numbers, but not necessarily direct deadlift glory.
Sources: Reactions and analyses are drawn from compiled community discussions, social media posts, and expert breakdown videos , as documented in available lifting forums, YouTube commentaries, and strength-coach blogs. These sources capture both the praise and the healthy skepticism that Kimâs rack pull has generated among lifting enthusiasts and coaches.